Laughter

Who knew watching Kasha run up and down the steps to our deck would make Kaitlyn laugh so much? She couldn't stop! Here's just a few seconds of our fun. We think Kasha enjoyed it too.

A Glorious Sunday Afternoon

We got an early springtime treat yesterday as temperatures hovered in the low 70's in the Nashville area...a rarity for this time of the year. We eagerly took advantage of the nice weather by taking Kaitlyn to a playground for the first time. It's funny how you only notice playgrounds once you have kids. Jeff and I have been to Crockett Park in Brentwood many times, but I never knew about the amazing playground there until we looked for it. It's well-shaded (or it will be once the leaves come out again!) so it's a perfect spot for a hot, summer day. We'll definitely be frequenting this playground!


As you can see, Kaitlyn loved her little baby-sized swing. We also let her go down a toddler slide (while holding on to her arms). It's hard to tell who was having more fun, Kaitlyn or us!

Bath Time

Bath time is so much more fun now that Kaitlyn is old enough to enjoy the water. She gets very excited when she sees us filling the tub. I really think she could be happy sitting in the water for an hour! She especially enjoys our detachable shower head that we use to rinse her off. I have a feeling she's going to love sprinklers and fountains this summer.

Checking out the tub with Daddy

She loves getting sprayed with the shower

Trying to "eat" the water and the tub!

Pulling Up

In the past few days, Kaitlyn has learned to pull up to a standing position. She's having lots of fun exploring previously out-of-reach items. But unfortunately what goes up must come down, so we're still working on the fine art of sitting down from standing. That's the tricky part! Right now, her "method" involves landing on her butt with a thump...which usually startles her and causes a brief crying episode. But I'm sure she'll get the hang of it soon enough.

Baby Blessing

Last night, our church celebrated the arrival of 34 new babies in 2007. If you do the math, then Otter Creek averages a new baby every 10.7 days! Our church has a special passion for its children's ministry, and we feel so blessed that Kaitlyn will grow up in a nurturing, vibrant church community. During the Baby Blessing, the parents and congregation were all charged to do everything within their power to teach these babies to love and trust God. Then the elders prayed over the babies. It was neat to look around the stage and see some of our daughter's future friends--people who will help her see God and will influence her (hopefully in a good way!) in the years to come.

Jeff, Kaitlyn and I are standing behind the two girls in the white dresses.

A family picture after the ceremony.

9 month pictures

It's very difficult to get an energetic crawler to sit still for pictures. But here are the best ones from our recent photo shoot.

Sleeping like a baby

I took this picture during one of Kaitlyn's naps yesterday. She was sitting up and then decided to just lay down and go to sleep. It looks like such an uncomfortable sleeping position! But she obviously doesn't seem to mind. It was a nice 2+ hour nap!

Happy Valentine's Day

Off the charts...again

We had Kaitlyn's 9 month checkup today. She's a growing girl! She now weighs 25 lb, 5 oz. and is 30 " long, which means that she's off the charts again in weight/height....just like her mom was at that age.

Favorite Pastimes

Here are some of Kaitlyn's favorite things to do lately.

Opening drawers. The ones in her room are easy to open and close, so she enjoys playing with them and trying to empty out the contents. If she's really motivated, she'll get up on her knees so that she can reach more things...until she tries to close the drawer with her fingers still inside. The tears are usually not far behind. Mean drawers!

Emptying the toy basket. She's not satisfied until she takes a perfectly contained basket of toys and removes each toy one by one.

Pulling up on the window. She tries really hard to push herself up to a standing position using the window sill. She also enjoys just looking outside.

Playing in the laundry basket. Obviously she has to have some help getting inside, but once she's there, she has great fun playing peek-a-boo and pulling up on the sides.